In his play Antigone, Sophocles presents the conflict of choosing between family loyalty and obeying the law of the land. The playwright clearly believes that loyalty to one’s family trumps listening to the law and it shines through as the right choice. In the novella “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, there is a lack of family loyalty shown towards the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, who has shown immense allegiance to his parents and sister. In Antigone, several of the characters are loyal either to the law of the land or to their family, while some start off loyal to one and transition throughout the play.
Kreon, king of Thebes made a law stating that Polynices could not be buried because of his act against the king. Antigone clearly values family loyalty above all else and, despite her brother being an outlaw, wants to bury him. Her obligation to her family outweighs any obligation she feels towards the law of the land. Kreon shows a different extreme where his familial loyalty extends only as far as the law but when the two contradict, he chooses to follow the law.
Finally, Ismene, the sister of Antigone, demonstrates an intermittent position on loyalties, at first hesitant to go against the law and then deciding that her family is more important. Her priorities have shifted and her loyalties lie differently at the end of the play than at the beginning. Through Ismene’s transition, Sophocles shows that being supportive of one’s family above all else is good by having her see “the light” and be inspired by her sister. Conversely, in “Metamorphosis,” the protagonist’s family transition in the opposite direction and their loyalty to Gregor in his time of need begin to waver throughout the novella.
In Antigone, Antigone values familial devotion above everything else and her actions throughout the play clearly highlight this value. Kreon has made a law stating that her brother may not be buried due to his actions again the king. Rather than obey, Antigone stays true to her values and does all she can to have her brother, Polynices. While talking to her sister, Ismene, Antigone shows how much she is willing to do for her family. Ismene says, “‘You mean to bury him? In spite of the edict? ‘T ‘He’s my brother and yours too;/whether you will or not, I will stand by him. (Sophocles 22) In contrast with Ismene, who is hesitant to go against the law of the land. Antigone is strong in her decision to stand by her brother and insure that he gets the proper burial she feels he deserves. Her allegiance to her family extends across the edict and Antigone is willing to go against Kreon to do what she feels is right. Unlike Antigone, whose loyalty to her family is endless and is inextinguishable, Kreon’s familial fidelity extends only until the law, and where there is a cross roads, he will choose the law above his family.
While his family is important to him, Kreon places more value on obeying the law than on doing what is best for his family. His ethics are shown when he is willing to kill Antigone, the woman his son loves, because she went against his edict. Rather than pardon her and allow his son to be happy, Kreon remains faithful to the letter of the law and punishes Antigone. Kreon, Ismene, and the seer Koryphaios are having a conversation and the seer attempts to dissuade Kreon from killing his son’s love. Ismene says, “It is Haimon you cast aside when you say that. / Don’t you love your son?
Can you deprive him? ‘/’No. Death will stop that wedding. / And this is the end:/ I’m sick of you and this marriage business. ” (Sophocles 44) Ismene is in disbelief, questioning how Kreon could be disloyal to his son to such an extent as to take away his love. In spite of all this, Kreon still intends to go through with the killing of Antigone. While the king loves his son, Haimon, he is not willing to go against his own law to ensure his son’s happiness. This in direct contrast with Antigone, who was willing to go against the law for the sake of her brother.
Kreon on the other hand, is only oyal to his family when the law does not force him to be otherwise. Both Kreon and Antigone represent two extremes of the conflict between loyalty to one’s family and loyalty to the law of the land, Ismene represents the intermediate position. At the beginning of the play, Ismene is unwilling to disobey the edict to bury her brother but by the end, having been inspired by Antigone, is ready to go against the edict for her family. When her and Antigone are having a conversation, Ismene is shocked that her sister is willing to disobey the direct order of the king.
She says, “You mean to bury him? In spite of the edict? ” (Sophocles 22) Ismene does not understand the idea of going against the word of the king, even if it is for the sake of one’s family. She then tells Antigone that she should not try to bury polynices. She says, “No, we must obey, even in this,/ even if something could hurt more. ” (Sophocles 22) Ismene thinks that Antigone needs to be more loyal to Kreon and to follow the laws despite how hard it may be to be disloyal to the family. She is resistant to the idea of helping Antigone bury Polynices.
Her feelings about this change throughout the play as she sees how far Antigone is willing to for the betterment of her family. When Ismene sees that Antigone will possibly die in the attempt to bury her brother, she is ready to aid her sister. Her priorities have shifted and Ismene feels that allegiance to one’s family trumps loyalty to the law. Ismene goes to Antigone and is faced with the fact that her sister is being sentenced to die. She wants to share in the blame but her sister says that since Ismene was unwilling to help bury her brother before, she cannot take the blame now.
Ismene explains that after seeing her sister in the position she is in, she is now ready to go against Kreon’s edict. She says, “Now that you are in trouble/ I’m not afraid to weather the suffering with you. /I have made myself ready. ” the fear that has kept Ismene from helping in the burial of her brother has all but vanished now that Antigone is faced with the death penalty. Seeing her sister on the verge of death, Ismene is stirred into action and is bracing herself to disobey the order.
Ismene transitions throughout the play, at first feeling that the law of the land should be obeyed above all else, even if that means being disloyal to one’s family. At the end of the play, she has changed positions and believes that the law of the land can be ignored when one needs to choose between that and supporting one’s kin. Conversely, in the novella “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the family of Gregor Samsa start off showing extreme familial support but slowly transition and stop being loyal to Gregor in his time of need.
Gregor, after having transformed into a giant bug, receives help from his sister and mother. The sister, who remains nameless throughout the story, makes sure that Gregor gets everything she needs. Now that he is a big, Gregor’s taste has changed and he prefers different food and therefore, the sister brings in an array of food to see which he will eat. Kafka writes,” But he never could have guessed what his sister out of the goodness of her heart in fact did. She brought him, to test his taste, an entire selection, all spread out on an old newspaper.
There were old half-rotten vegetables, bones from the evening meal, covered with a white sauce which had almost solidified, some raisins and almonds, cheese, which Gregor had declared inedible two days earlier, a slice of dry bread, a slice of salted bread smeared with butter. In addition to all this, she put down a bowl (probably designated once and for all as Gregor’s) into which she had poured some water. (Kafka 31) Despite Gregor going through the tribulations that he is, his sister is standing by his side and ensuring that he has everything that he needs.
She goes above and beyond and provides Gregor with several different dishes for him to sample. Rather than leave Gregor now that he is a bug, she adjusts to his new form and remains loyal to her brother. This does not last however, and the sister eventually stops giving Gregor the best care. She barely puts any effort into what she feeds him and no longer pays attention to whether or not Gregor has eaten. Now that Gregor’s “condition” has become more burdensome, the sister has begin to withdraw and abandons Gregor. By the end of the novella, Gregor’s family has all but forgotten him and when he dies, they are apathetic.
Kafka writes, “And it was something of a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions when at the end of their journey the daughter first lifted herself up and stretched her young body. ” (Kafka 77). The family has become so far removed Gregor and no longer stand by him and therefore, his death has little effect on them. In fact, now that he is gone, they feel almost liberated and feel as though they can move on with their lives. The loyalty to their brother and son extends only so far and is eventually eliminated.
In both Antigone and “Metamorphosis”, the theme of familial loyalty plays a role. In the play, several of the characters offer a different perspective on how far loyalty to one’s family should extend. Antigone represents family loyalty to the strongest degree, being loyal to her brother despite an edict. Nothing prevents her from showing her loyalty and she will do anything for her family. In contrast, Kreon was supportive of his family up until the law prevented him from making his family happy. He was willing to kill the woman his son loved because she broke the law rather than retract the edict.
Both Kreon and Antigone are representative of the two extremes in the conflict between family loyalty and obeying laws. Ismene makes a transition between the two extremes throughout the play, at first being hesitant to help bury her brother because of the edict and then at the end ready to do anything to assist Antigone. She goes from valuing the law over family to putting family above all else, just as her sister. Contrastly, in the “Metamorphosis” transition in the other direction, being loyal to Gregor at the beginning but abandoning him at the end of the novella.
Through the transition that Ismene makes in Antigone, Sophocles shows that it is better to be loyal to one’s family even if that means going against the law of the land. In “Metamorphosis”, the transition that the family goes through makes it seem as though one should abandon their family if they are being weighed down. When the family leave the apartment, and ultimately Gregor, the seem almost liberated from a burden. Kafka is putting a positive spin on the disloyalty that the family is showing towards Gregor. This is radically different from Sophocles who clearly places a value on familial allegiance.
